Watching TV coverage of the Assembly Election last Saturday, I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Mr Elliott's outburst against the Sinn Fein supporters, when he described them as "scum".

I have been a supporter of the Unionist Party all of my life and I would not consider myself to be a friend of Sinn Fein in any way, but the province has moved on since the dark days of the Troubles and a party which has the second largest share of the vote deserves respect at least, if not affection from anyone who considers themselves to be a democrat.

Mr Elliott's remarks cannot be excused, whatever the circumstances, and reflect no credit on himself or the party which he leads. I am afraid that I will find it difficult to give my vote to the Unionist Party again as long as he remains in his present position.

I fully appreciate that he has suffered loss at the hands of terrorists in the past, but he is far from alone in that. There can be few in the province who are unaffected, but we cannot live in the past forever. It is time to move on and those who cannot should step aside in favour of those who are prepared to lead us to a future built on mutual respect and understanding.